Award-winning video game, Mini Motorways, re-launches in te reo Māori

16 Sept

Created by Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington studio Dinosaur Polo Club, Mini Motorways reaches cultural milestone with full te reo Māori localisation and gifted name, Rori Riki.

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington-based video game development studio Dinosaur Polo Club has officially announced that their Mini Motorways game will today launch a full te reo Māori language update as part of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2026 to their nine million players worldwide, with a te reo Māori name gifted to the game and its developers by te reo Māori translators Kūwaha Ltd - Rori Riki.

As part of the update, the game now includes a complete te reo Māori localisation across its interface and gameplay, making it one of the few globally played games to offer te reo Māori language support. It coincides with Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (14-20 September), helping bring te reo Māori into digital spaces where millions of people play, learn and connect.

Kūwaha worked closely with the Mini Motorways team, Shalee Fitzsimmons (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), Head of Art, and leader of Dinosaur Polo Club’s Māori and Tikanga initiatives, and studio founders and brothers Robert and Peter Curry to localise the game into te reo Māori and gift the game the name Rori Riki. The te reo name was an unexpected and deeply appreciated outcome of the localisation process for the studio - "Receiving the name Rori Riki was a real privilege," says co-founder Peter Curry. "Te reo Māori is part of our distinct cultural identity here in Aotearoa, and we didn't want to treat this translation as just another localisation with words hotswapped from a

dictionary. It's an honour we don't take lightly, getting to be a place where millions of people overseas experience the language unique to our whenua."

This update is more than a technical localisation, it is reflective of a genuine cultural partnership and respect for te reo Māori as a living language, and as Aotearoa’s official language.

“We didn’t want to just bolt te reo onto Motorways; we wanted it to be authentic. Working with Kristin and the team at Kūwaha on translations and having Ako Academy in the studio has helped us embed tikanga into how we work, and te reo into the worlds we create.” says Shalee. “As a games studio in Aotearoa, we have a responsibility to reflect the place we come from, and we are still learning, but that’s the point. I’m proud we’ve started this journey as a team”.

The collaborative approach taken throughout the project reinforces that it is about more than language support, but also recognising and celebrating te reo Māori within a game created here in Aotearoa. By embedding te reo Māori into a globally played title, the studio is helping normalise the language in digital spaces where millions of players, including rangatahi, spend their time. For local players, the update offers an opportunity to engage with te reo Māori in a fun, low-pressure environment.

The update comes seven years after the launch of Mini Motorways and continues the studio's commitment to providing free content updates for its global player community. "We're incredibly proud to be launching this update during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori," said Ben Emerson, Marketing Manager at Dinosaur Polo Club. "Te reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand and an important part of who we are. Making Mini Motorways available in te reo Māori felt like a meaningful way to celebrate that and to share a part of Aotearoa with players both locally and around the world."

Founded in Wellington in 2013 by the Curry brothers, Dinosaur Polo Club has grown from a team of three people to a studio of more than 30 staff. Its first title, Mini Metro, received a BAFTA nomination, while Mini Motorways and the studio have earned recognition through numerous New Zealand and international awards, including the coveted audience choice award at the Independent Games Festival in 2022.

The studio's Wellington roots and steady, sustainable growth make it a modest success story in Aotearoa's screen and creative sectors - especially in the capital, where growth in the industry is thriving. The update follows the studio's continued commitment to free content updates 7 years since launch, keeping the global community engaged.

Rori Riki/Mini Motorways is available on Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, and Steam (PC/Mac). Players worldwide can access the te reo Māori update free of charge across all supported platforms.

Dinosaur Polo Club is supported by NZ On Air through the New Zealand Game Development Sector Rebate.

ABOUT DINOSAUR POLO CLUB

Dinosaur Polo Club is an independent game development studio based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Founded in 2013 by brothers Peter and Robert Curry, the studio has a team of more than 30 developers, artists and designers. Its games include the BAFTA-nominated Mini Metro and the award-winning Mini Motorways, which has been played by more than nine million people worldwide.

Mini Motorways is available across all current platforms, including Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, and PC and Mac via Steam.